If your child is like an increasing number of children
today, he or she may have their very own cell phone or tablet. There’s no
denying that in many situations, giving your child their own cell phone can
come in handy. You’ll never have to worry about whether they’ll be able to call
you after school to let you know if they’re staying with a friend or need a
ride.
But giving your child a cell phone also means that you need
to help them understand cell phone monitoring software. You simply can’t give a
young child a cell phone without it. Here’s how you can help your child
understand cell phone monitoring software and basic Internet safety.
What It’s For
If your child is playing outside, you’ve probably told them
that they need to stay within eye sight of your house and that they should
always have a friend or sibling with them if they walk up to the store or
farther into the neighborhood.
You wouldn’t let them walk around the city by themselves. So
why would you let them use a cell phone without any sort of supervision? This
is where cell phone monitoring software comes in handy to spy on a cell phone for free of contact with the physical device.
Tell your child that you have a special program on their
phone that helps make sure they’re using their phone appropriately and keeping
them safe. The program can help see where the phone is just in case they lose
it and make sure they’re using safe websites on the Internet. When a child knows
what their boundaries are and what responsible behavior is, they’ll be all the
better for it. The more upfront you are about cell phone monitoring software,
the better. If you’re like most parents, you might also have parental controls
on their phone too to make sure they’re not downloading apps without
permission. You might also find it helpful to explain to your child what
parental controls are for and what they help protect your child from. Children
notice responsible parenting and they’ll benefit from knowing that they have a
parent who cares, no matter what.
Encouraging
Responsible Internet Behavior
Part of this involving teaching your young children about
responsible internet behavior. It’s not enough to just tell your children not
to visit dangerous websites. You’ll also need to make sure that your children
understand what they’re supposed to do online in order to have a safe and happy
time.
Be sure to inform your child that anything they do online
stays online forever. Software to spy on a cell phone free of contact, since it key logs and
tracks website usage, can actually be a great visual tool to show children that
this is really the case. Advertisers use similar technology to track peoples’
online behavior. If your child Googles something like “How to convince my mom
to buy me a goldfish”, she may, for example, receive fish tank advertisements
because of her online browsing behavior. It’s important for your child to be
careful about what they post online.
Your child should also know that it’s not safe to give out
personal information, such as their phone number or address, online even to
people they supposedly know and trust without your permission. Along with
staying on the Internet forever, personal information can compromise your
child’s safety and expose them to dangerous people.
Google even offers a child friendly search engine and other
websites, such as YouTube, even offer versions suitable for families, free of
explicit content. Be sure to do plenty of research. But even if a child uses a
kid friendly version of a website, still keep an eye on their Internet usage
and be open to answering any questions they may have.
Cell phone monitoring software that lets you spy on a cell phone without having it is powerful but it comes with
its own limitations. Be careful and aware and let your children know why you’re
installing it.
